1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to a composition for fabrication of an electrode, an electrode fabricated using the same, a plasma display panel, and associated methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
An element such as a resistor, a ceramic capacitor, a thermistor, a varistor, or an electrode for a plasma display panel (PDP), etc., may be patterned using a composition having a silver powder-containing conductive filler. The pattern may then be fired to fabricate, e.g., an electrode.
Using a composition that includes silver powder as a conductive filler results in increased production costs. Moreover, silver in an electrode pattern may exhibit material migration as a result of current flow in the electrode. This may reduce the reliability of the electrode. Further, in devices having a fine feature pitch, such material migration may generate a short circuit between adjacent electrodes.
There is a need for relatively low cost conductive filler materials capable of replacing silver powder. Aluminum is known to be conductive, but using aluminum as the conductive filler may be difficult because aluminum is readily oxidized when exposed to firing temperatures in an oxidative atmosphere. Furthermore, a firing process may be repeatedly performed when fabricating an electrode. Thus, the use of aluminum for the electrode may be expected to result in drastic deterioration in electrical conductivity of the electrode in the final product. Accordingly, there is a need for advances in the art that allow the use of aluminum-based conductive fillers.